My Prayer Assignment
“I believe that when you pray for the nations, you touch the heart of God. In my early thirties, I heard a message on Psalm 2:8, where God said to Jesus: ‘Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possessions.’ The pastor challenged our class that evening with a simple but profound instruction: ‘Ask God what nation you should pray for.’
“I went home and began praying for direction, and it didn’t take long for God to put Cuba on my heart. Little did I know that praying for Cuba would become my life’s assignment. As a boy I watched the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold on television, and my lifelong love of baseball drew my attention to the island nation, famous for producing exceptional players. Yet this prompting felt deeper than curiosity, and for more than four decades, I’ve carried a persistent burden in my heart to pray for Cuba.
“What began as a simple act of obedience in prayer eventually grew into a life assignment that took me from prayer meetings in Texas to building relationships and ministering in churches across the island. I learned you should never pray a prayer unless you are willing to be the answer.
“After reading 1 Timothy 2, to pray for those in authority, I focused especially on praying for the country’s leadership. Day after day, I prayed for Fidel Castro and the Cuban government, asking God to soften their hearts and bring spiritual awakening to the nation. The Lord put a specific prayer in my heart to pray over the Word of God that had been spoken into Fidel Castro’s life by his mother when he was a boy. I prayed, ‘Lord, let my prayers water the seed of the Word of God that was sown in his heart as a boy.’"
Moving the Heart of God
“For six years, I prayed faithfully without seeing any visible results. I began to wonder if my assignment was finished. Then, in 1990, something remarkable happened. While attending a pastors’ conference in Los Angeles, I sat at breakfast with several pastors I’d never met before. During the conversation, one pastor began sharing a story about Cuba. What I heard next stunned me.
“The pastor described a Baptist missionary who had been preaching throughout the city of Havana. One evening, the missionary received a knock on his hotel door and was greeted by two government officials who escorted him into a building and told him to wait in an office and someone would be with him soon. Then the door opened. Fidel Castro himself walked into the office, sat down across from the missionary, and explained why he had summoned him:
‘I know you’re wondering why I brought you here tonight,’ Castro said.
‘Yes, sir,’ the missionary replied.
Castro then said, ‘I want you to tell me the Bible stories that my mother used to tell me.’
“As I listened to the story at breakfast that day, I was overwhelmed. I thought to myself, This prayer stuff really works! When I pray the Word of God and for the will of God to be done, the Holy Spirit goes and does God’s business. This moment was a deep, personal confirmation for me. The prayer I’d been praying—about the Word planted by Castro’s mother—had impacted a dictator who was thousands of miles away. I had been praying for six years and was about to give up, but God used that missionary and moment to say, ‘You’re not finished praying for Cuba.’
“The experience also taught me an important lesson about intercession: Prayer is over when we say, ‘Amen,’ but intercession is over when God says, ‘Amen!’ And God had not spoken amen over Cuba. I continued praying for many more years, and God expanded my ministry in prayer. I was ordained and began traveling throughout the United States, Canada, and Great Britain teaching about the power of prayer."
Twenty-Six Years of Prayer
“Eventually, after a season of transition, my wife, Donna, and I became part of Gateway Church in Texas where I joined the church’s prayer leadership team and continued sharing my testimony about praying for Cuba. Gateway Church has walked alongside us for more than twenty years now.
“The next step in our journey began in 2010 when my friends from Global Advance contacted me with an invitation: ‘Hey Jack, are you still praying for Cuba?’ I said, ‘Yes, that’s still my assignment.’ They told me they were assembling a leadership team to travel to Cuba and asked if I would like to go. In that moment, I felt like God said, ‘Why do you think I’ve had you praying for 30 years? You’ve laid a foundation in prayer, and now I want you to go serve my Church in Cuba.’
“We founded First Church Ministries and began to traveling to Cuba with ministry teams, building relationships and provide ongoing support and resources for churches and leaders. We travel to Cuba twice a year to conduct leadership training events, coordinate humanitarian relief, and assist with special projects that impact more than 100 churches across the island. Our partners have helped to distribute almost 50,000 Bibles and provide support for church leaders serving in increasingly difficult circumstances.
“The heart of the mission remains the same as it was in 1982: prayer and more prayer. Jesus said, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’ (Matthew 21:13 NIV). If you really want to know God in a personal way, it is through the power of prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus urges His disciples: ‘Could you not tarry with me one hour?’ (Matthew 28:38, 40 KJV). The word tarry means ‘to make yourself sit down.’ In other words, ‘could you not make yourself sit down for one hour and contend with me for the will of God?’ Sitting down to pray has shaped more than forty years of ministry and opened the door to God’s work in a nation I first carried only in my heart.
“I want to challenge the next generation with this question: what nation will you pray for?”
Missionary to Cuba
Pastor Jack Abraham serves churches across Cuba, where many congregations meet outdoors under a pavilion or in simple home settings. Gatherings are usually small, often twenty to forty people, similar to home churches. When Jack visits, he typically teaches while someone interprets for him. Rather than serving just one congregation, Jack builds relationships with multiple pastors, equipping them and helping meet practical needs.
Support often includes food, resources, and assistance for pastors’ families and church members, many of whom live in deep poverty. Many ministries including Gateway Church work alongside Pastor Jack to care for widows, orphans, pastors, and families. After a recent hurricane, Gateway was able to help provide resources for Cuban communities that had lost nearly everything.
Recursos adicionales
Learn More About Global Trips and Outreach at Gateway.
Learn More About Giving to Those in Need at Gateway.